The Great iPad Experiment - Results

The great iPad experiment has come to a conclusion and it's time to share the results!

As you may recall, I've been conducting an experiment with my iPad to determine if it can fill all of my mobile computing needs. Can it eliminate the need for a laptop or netbook?

I have several observations:

- The iPad is a great platform for consumption: movies, music, books, news, and other forms of media. The combination of the form factor and the superior media consumption experience are at the heart of what makes the iPad a revolutionary product.

- The iPad is also strong when it comes to what I'll call "light computing": checking email, writing text (SimpleNote has a simple UI and syncs all my text files between all my devices), and creating/editing simple MS Office-type files (I use DocsToGo, but iWorks for the iPad and QuickOffice are out there). The iPad is also pretty good for presentations - KeyNotes for the iPad is a great tool for working through digital projectors and the like.

- The limitations of the iPad become more apparent as I start to do some heavier computing. Complex Excel workbooks or Word files…can't do 'em on the iPad. DocsToGo is pretty quirky when I attempt to do things like hide presentation slides or add in animation or include graphics files. And iWorks for the iPad…well, i works hard to deal with the funky UI and touch commands. And my favorite web-based solutions like Google Docs or Soho don't work so well with the iPad. Really heavy stuff like running VMs - well, the iPad just isn't designed for it.

So my conclusion? I got pretty creative and pushed the iPad to the limit in hoping that it would do the trick. I did find the The iPad to be cool…even revolutionary…but I still need a laptop or netbook. Some of the things I do are just too much for the iPad (and please don't suggest I vpn back to my desktop - I have this thing about snappy performance that just isn't satisfied over a 3G pipe). I'll be relying on the iPad at conferences (on the days I don't present) and for short trips, but it will see most of it's duty when I'm reading in bed or sitting in my recliner at home.

Maybe someday in the future the iPad will be a full replacement for a laptop or netbook. I could see it happening. But today is not that day. Experiment over.

Now I just have to get the OK from my wife for a MacBook Pro with a snappy solid state drive (and I really like the form factor of the 13.3 inch MBP). Set it up with a Linux VM (for Oracle apps and tools) and a Windows VM (for Visio and MS Project), and life will be good. What do you want to bet I'll have to buy two?

UPDATE: MacBook ordered August 5th.

Going Native

So I'm sitting in the Ontario (CA) airport, waiting for a flight to Sacramento. The purpose of today's flight? In short, to show I care.

I'm spending time with a client today to help launch a significant JD Edwards implementation. While they know they need the system, they're understandably nervous about the project. I'm attending the project kick-off to show that our company will be there with them and to assure them that we'll do whatever it takes to get them across the finish line. Today is not about billing, generating revenues, or even sharing nifty Oracle tricks. It's about showing that we care.

In consulting, we often talk about consultants who have "gone native" - who put the needs of the client above the needs of their own company. It's usually spoken of as a bad thing. Me, I wish I could find more consultants like that. Happier clients, superior deliveries, a brand reputation that drives customers to the door. That sounds like the road to success for a service-provider.

I need to work harder on going native. Today is a step in that direction for me. How 'bout you?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

"Soup To Nuts" Goes Online

Exciting stuff today. As you might recall, one of the highlights of Collaborate 10 was the all-day "Oracle Fusion Architecture: Soup to Nuts" workshop. Unfortunately, some folks were unable to attend Collaborate this year, but still want the information from the workshop. Now it looks as though those folks are in luck.

OAUG, Quest, ODTUG, HEUG, IOUC, IOUG and Oracle have all worked together to take "Soup to Nuts" online. The all-day workshop has been broken up into a series of live seminars running from July 12 through 16 at noon EDT (U.S.) and 9 a.m. PST (U.S.). You can check out the abstracts and register for the FREE live sessions here.

Yeah, collaboration rocks!